Anything for My Best Friend
by SciFiJ
Summary: New rewritten summary: After a mission goes sideways, its up to Rodney to find a way to help John heal. Adventure into the unknown ensues! As always, reviews are treasured :)
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hello all! This is my first story, so please be nice :). Constructive criticism always welcomed. No beta, so forgive any wonky formatting or errors. No specific time frame, so I'll just issue a general warning for all seasons. Rated T for violence/thematic elements only. Enjoy!

Chapter 1

"Run Rodney!" Colonel John Sheppard yelled, pushing the scientist in front of him. Enemy bullets

whizzed past their heads, causing them to duck into some forest shrubbery. "Oh great," Rodney gasped. "Something else I'm probably allergic to!"

Sheppard stayed quiet, all his energy focused on getting them both back to the gate in one piece. His aching leg begged for attention, but it would have to wait until they were both safe. He hoped Ronon and Teyla had gotten his signal to run before everything hit the fan.

His leg throbbed in cadence with his heartbeat. Sweat dripped into his eyes for seemingly the millionth time, and he wiped a bloody hand across his face. McKay's incessant complaining brought him back into focus. He pulled the scientist behind a large oak-like tree, and clapped a hand over McKay's mouth. "Shut up Rodney! They're probably just following your voice!" he whispered forcefully. Rodney stilled, staring at Sheppard with round eyes. The Colonel remained on alert, listening for sounds of their pursuers. After a moment he dropped his hand from Rodney's mouth, who immediately spit, and acted disgusted. "Do you ever wash your hands?! That was an experience I don't ever want to go through again!"

Sheppard waved a hand absently, saying, "Sorry I don't think about personal hygiene when running for my life McKay." He swayed dizzily as the adrenaline from the escape faded, and that's when Rodney got his first look at John's leg. "For goodness sake Colonel, when were you gonna tell me you were hit?" He grabbed ahold of John's shoulder and eased him to the ground. The Colonel groaned quietly from the effort. He opened one eye to glance at the noisy scientist. "Because Rodney, then you would've gotten fussy, and we had escaping to do."

McKay sputtered in complaint, but realized the Colonel was right. He leaned back on his heels, studying the LSD. "Seems like they've lost our trail for now. But they have certainly placed guards at the gate by now." Sheppard nodded in response, too spent to voice a reply. Rodney knelt down and began digging through his backpack. "Where's that stupid med kit when you need it?!"

John motioned to the front pocket. "Where it always is Rodney." The scientist muttered something that sounded like thanks, and pulled out the small box. It contained painkillers, an Epipen, a large roll of gauze, med tape, scissors, multiple sizes of needle individually packaged, and several other things that Rodney didn't care about. He grabbed the syringe containing morphine, but John stopped him. "No heavy drugs. I need to be clear headed. Give me the Tylenol." Rodney gaped at him. "That will be about as useful as me playing football!"

John chuckled at the thought of that, and even caused McKay to smile. Rodney motioned to the kit. "What do I do first?" Sheppard looked at their supplies. "You're gonna have to sew me up." Rodney gulped loudly. "Uh you sure you want me to do it? I mean I never paid attention to Carson's voodoo classes…" Sheppard held up a hand at the barrage of words.

"Listen McKay, those bullets they used were heavy duty. Splintering kind if I had to guess. That's why we gotta get this bleeding stopped. If we don't, you'll have to carry my carcass home to Atlantis for a nice funeral!"

Rodney grimaced, and proceeded to grab the needle and thread.

Sheppard pointed at the small bottle of rubbing alcohol. "You need to pour that in the wound to clean it. Save some for your hands too." After cleaning his hands thoroughly, Rodney threaded the needle and held it up. "Now what?" he asked hesitantly.

Sheppard picked up the bottle of alcohol and splashed some directly on the bullet hole. Grunting and wheezing in pain, he tossed the bottle down and leaned back against the tree with his eyes tightly shut. Rodney cringed as he had to watch the Colonel in pain. After a moment Sheppard opened his eyes. "That sucked," he said simply. Rodney held up the needle. "Hard part is next. How to I do this?" Sheppard pointed to the ragged edge of the exit wound, above his right kneecap. "Start here, and just pinch the edges together as best you can. We just need to slow the bleeding down, and then Carson can fix me up when we get home."

Rodney cringed and moved closer. Sheppard grabbed a small stick and stuck it between his teeth. He gave McKay a thumbs up, and Rodney plunged the needle in.

~~~SGA~~~

Rodney leaned back with a gasp of relief. He tied off the thread, and tossed the needle aside. Thankfully John had lost consciousness when the "surgery" had begun. He wiped the wound clean with another swab, the wrapped it in the last gauze bandage they had. He sat back in astonishment. He literally had just sewn up a bullet wound. Suddenly he felt nauseous. Turning away from the Colonel he leaned over and lost his lunch. Immediately embarrassed, he quickly buried the offending bile with leaves and dirt. There, now no one would know. He looked around at their little "campsite." He had no idea how long or how cold the nights got on this planet, so he figured that Murphy's Law would come into play at some point. Things usually went wrong on every mission. He took inventory on their remaining supplies, because Sheppard would probably ask when he woke up. One full canteen, 3 Powerbars, and a chocolate bar that was Sheppard's secret, "not so secret from Rodney" snack. Not really enough for a long stay on this godforsaken planet, he thought. But hopefully after Sheppard was rested, they'd have a better shot at reaching the gate in one piece.


	2. Chapter 2

Hope you liked Chapter 1. I'm still getting the hang of this FF site. Thanks for the reviews and alerts! :) Not really sure how long I want this story to be, so bear with me :). Onwards!

Chapter 2

A loud screeching noise jolted Rodney awake. Annoyed at the indigenous fowl, he didn't even realize he'd fallen asleep. He looked over and John hadn't awoken either. The poor guy was still in a lot of pain, as evidenced by the creasing around his tightly closed eyes, and the sheen of sweat coating his entire body. Rodney looked around. This planet was nothing remarkable, which is why he hated their current situation so much. The Colonel could die on this godforsaken lump of rock for nothing. He reached over hesitantly, mentally debating on whether to wake Sheppard up. The need to get off this horrid planet as quickly as possible won out, and Rodney gently shook Sheppard's shoulder. "Colonel it's me. Time to rise and shine." Sheppard jerked and bleary eyes cracked open to glare at McKay. He looked around, noticing the darkness. Sitting up quickly he snapped at Rodney, "Why didn't you wake me up earlier?" Rodney leaned back on his heels, defensive. "Because, Colonel Invincible, you have a gaping hole in your leg. I figured you needed the rest before going out to kick more bad guys' butts."

John leaned back, regretting sitting up so fast, and getting onto McKay. The scientist was way out of his element. He sighed, and motioned to Rodney. "Help me up. We need to get going." McKay stood up reluctantly and held out his hand. "You're really in no condition to walk Colonel." Sheppard groaned a little when he got upright, feeling dizzy. "That's why...you're helping...me Rodney," he said breathlessly, as he slung an arm over Rodney's shoulder. McKay huffed in disagreement. "Which way?" John surveyed their surroundings again. Since it was now dark and he'd been unconscious for who knew how long, it was hard to remember which way they'd been heading. Things had gone south with the natives so quickly that he'd barely had time to do anything except shove Rodney out of the way of a hail of bullets, and take off running. He'd hoped that rescue would've come by now, in the form of Teyla and Ronon, and several units of Marines. He pointed to their right, which lead deeper into the thick bushes and trees. "Let's try this way." Rodney tightened his grip on Sheppard's waist, willingly taking most of his weight. They set off, at a slow and arduous pace. Rodney could tell that Sheppard was in way more pain than he was showing, if the short, wheezing breaths he was taking were any indication. Rodney wordlessly paused every few minutes to let Sheppard take a break and catch his breath. After the third time doing this the Colonel had enough. "Look Rodney, I appreciate what you're trying to do. But this is just slowing us down. I refuse to be the reason you get captured or killed, so let's pick up the pace okay? I'll make it." He tried to smile sincerely, but Rodney saw more of a pained grimace. "Yeah okay Colonel Never-In-Pain, you're totally fine." He adjusted his grip and they set out again.

~~~~SGA~~~~

Rodney swore he would never complain about anything ever again if they got off this stupid planet alive. The Colonel was leaning more and more on McKay's shoulder, barely managing to carry any of his own weight, but still not complaining. Rodney was about to say something when John's injured leg inadvertently got caught on a tree root, and he fell forward despite Rodney's best efforts to catch him. They both landed in a heap, McKay accidentally hitting the Colonel's bandaged thigh with his foot. John couldn't contain the loud grunt of agony, as his leg was engulfed in fire. He lay on his stomach panting loudly, and Rodney profusely apologizing in the background of his pain-filled haze. A tear or two might've escaped, but he would never admit it. After a minute the pain subsided a bit, allowing him to settle his breathing. He managed to open his eyes, and saw Rodney nervously looking at him with concern evident on his face. "Maybe we can rest for a minute now," he whispered. Rodney made a show of rolling his eyes dramatically, but John could see just how scared he was. "Help me sit up," he said quietly. McKay quickly jumped up to help, grabbing ahold of the Colonel's shoulders, and scooted him against a large tree stump. John looked down at his leg, now bleeding again, and hurting way more than he wanted to admit. The bone felt broken, which was a bad sign. "Well...crap," he muttered. He knew they were out of bandages, and didn't have much food or water. They were well and truly in a terrible situation. He looked up at Rodney, who was nervously fiddling with his data pad. "I've been trying to figure a way out of this," McKay began. "Maybe I can adjust the sensors to locate the Gate somehow. Or maybe Teyla and Ronon will hurry up and find us." Sheppard nodded and closed his eyes. "I'll just rest for a minute while you do that." He was really feeling terrible, and his mind was foggy from the constant pain. Suddenly they heard shouts and the tree branches breaking loudly. His eyes shot open to find McKay frozen in place, staring out into the dense foliage. The voices faded as the native soldiers headed farther and farther away. John sighed quietly. "That's our cue to get going again." He leaned over and heaved himself up on his good leg, while Rodney scrambled over to help. Once again he threw an arm over McKay's shoulder, and they continued their slow trek hopefully back to the Gate, and home. John thought how much he would love some of Carson's good drugs right now. His leg throbbed relentlessly, and all his remaining energy was focused on not passing out and leaving Rodney to deal with the enemy alone. He would get them out of this, if it was the last thing he ever did.

~~~SGA~~~

After another hour of very slow progress, John began listing forward, but this time Rodney had enough advanced notice, and slowly lowered him to the ground. The Colonel was burning up with a fever, and shaking all over. Probably from blood loss and shock, McKay guessed. He took off his BDU vest and jacket, and laid them over John carefully. He knew what he'd find when he checked the soaked bandage, but he did anyway. Most of the stitches were ripped, and the jagged edges sluggishly leaked blood. He wanted to scream in frustration, because he knew they were truly screwed. He lifted his head to the sky with tears threatening to fall, and said "God, if you're up there. Please spare his life." He sat down dejectedly, not knowing what else to do. Ronon and Teyla had better hurry.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I'm happy with how the story is progressing so far, and I hope you are too! And I'm not even close to being a doctor, so forgive any inaccuracies (I even had to Google what a human thigh bone is called! Embarrassing!). I'm thinking I'll try for one more chapter after this one to wrap things up. Also have a different story in the works as well. Anywho, on we go!

Chapter 3

Ronon checked the energy cartridge on his blaster for seemingly the thousandth time. It had already taken too long to form a rescue plan for Sheppard and McKay, and he wasn't happy. After he and Teyla barely made it back through the gate, bullets following them through the event horizon and injuring two security officers, Dr Weir had been hesitant about immediate rescue attempts. The planet where his team members were trapped was too far to reach by Puddle Jumper, even if they had one available. Dr Zelenka had been repairing and updating all of the jumpers one by one before this mission went belly up, and now he was rushing to complete repairs in time to save Colonel Sheppard and Dr McKay. Ronon growled in frustration. Teyla looked at him, understanding in her eyes. Suddenly their earpieces crackled to life. Dr Zelenka's hurried voice exclaimed, "Dr Weir, I have successfully completed repairs of Jumper 1. Send your teams to the Jumper Bay." Ronon stood so fast his chair flipped over. He clicked his radio once. "Doc, you're coming too. I know I saw Sheppard take a bullet." Dr Beckett's quick reply came through immediately. "Aye lad. I'll pack my kit."

Major Lorne radioed two teams of Marines to gear up and get to the Jumper Bay. He nodded to Elizabeth as he passed. "We'll find them," he said quietly. She smiled in return. "Be careful Major. Godspeed." He threw her a relaxed salute over his shoulder, and jogged toward the Bay doors.

It only took a few moments for Jumper 1 to open the Bay doors on autopilot, initiate the dialing sequence, and lower itself in front of the horizon. Elizabeth clicked her earpiece. "Major you have a go. Bring back our people." Major Lorne replied sharply, "Yes ma'am!"

He pushed the jumper through the horizon, and the gate shut down. Elizabeth sighed and turned to Chuck, the gate tech. "Call me when they are due back." He nodded with a small smile. "Yes ma'am."

She retreated to her office, telling herself she would catch up on paperwork while waiting, but knowing that she'd most likely end up playing Solitaire distractedly. She walked to the window and gazed out at the sunrise. She would never forgive herself if John and Rodney died on a mission she sanctioned. She quite honestly didn't know if their expedition would survive without two key members, and two of her closest friends. She rubbed her eyes and sat down at her desk to wait.

~~~SGA~~~

Rodney nervously sat beside the still unconscious Colonel Sheppard, fiddling with his tablet. It had been a few hours since John had collapsed, and the sun had risen quickly, which made hiding in the dark no longer an option. Sheppard mumbled a "Hey McKay," and blinked slowly, startling Rodney. He scooted closer and offered the injured Colonel a drink of water. "It's nice to see you awake, Sheppard." He lifted John's head to help him drink. The fact that he didn't resist Rodney's help made the scientist even more concerned than he already was, if that was even possible. He gently laid Sheppard's head back down, and asked, "How are you feeling? I mean, outside of the obvious." The Colonel swallowed slowly, and closed his eyes again. After a minute he seemed to gather enough strength to talk. "Like crap. Pretty sure my femur is busted, if not completely shattered. I can't feel my leg from the knee down." He paused to take a trembling breath, and continued. "You have to go on without me. Find the gate, then lead the rescue back to me." Rodney held up his hands in protest. "Forget that. I'm not leaving you behind. You are always spouting that 'leave no man behind' stuff, don't you dare ask me to do it. Because I won't." He tried to look defiant, but he didn't think Sheppard bought the act. The Colonel just blinked at the mini outburst, taking a minute to absorb what Rodney had said. He finally shook his head slightly, with a look of regret that McKay didn't quite understand on his face. "Oh don't you dare start blaming this crappy situation on yourself Colonel!" Rodney admonished. "It's. Not. Your. Fault." John huffed out a pained grunt. "I should've seen the signs. Those people were aggressive from the start. If I had just been paying more attention then we wouldn't still be here." Rodney placed his hand on John's fever heated arm. "Listen, there's no way any of us could've known they'd go psycho on us. Ronon is probably blaming himself as well and that's just stupid."

Sheppard just sighed and closed his eyes. "I can't be the reason you get killed Rodney," he whispered, sounding broken. McKay gulped, and he awkwardly patted John's shoulder. "Just hang in there okay? They will find us, and Carson will work some voodoo on you and fix you up good as new, and we'll erase this horrid planet from the database." He doubted Sheppard had heard any of it, because he was already unconscious.

~~~SGA~~~

Jumper 1 emerged from the gate and Lorne activated the cloak immediately. The natives still managed to get a few shots off, their bullets pinging against the ship's outer hull. Unfazed, Lorne asked Zelenka if he had located the Colonel and McKay via their Sub-Q signals. The small eccentric scientist mumbled to himself while messing with his laptop and equipment. "Well, Doc?" Lorne drawled. Zelenka tapped a few buttons and pointed to the HUD. "There! They are about 3 klicks south. It took me a moment because there is some sort of interference, and one signal is weak." He looked at Lorne, worried. The Major banked the Jumper to the left, and pushed the little ship as fast as it would go. Ronon sat in the seat behind Lorne, his air of frustration and stubborn resolve affecting the mood of the entire group. Even the Marines looked a little afraid of Ronon in his current emotional state. Dr Beckett tutted around with his medical supplies, sorting them again. Everyone was just slightly on edge, and the good doctor couldn't wait to access his patient and get back home, to Atlantis' amazing medical facilities. He hoped the Colonel was not on death's door, for more than one reason. The primary being that he wasn't a trauma surgeon, and didn't want his lack of expertise in that field to cost the expedition their fine commander, and his friend's life. Lorne's sharp command interrupted his thoughts. "Everybody hang tight, we are gonna land about ¼ of a mile from their position. Doc, you are to stay behind the Marines at all times. Sgt Matthews, you're on point with Ronon. Teyla and I will bring up the rear. The second we land I want everyone ready to move."

A series of "Yes Sir's!" echoed through the small ship, and each person shuffled around to get in their correct spot. Lorne landed the ship with a practiced ease, and Sgt Matthews raised his hand. "Everyone ready?" he barked. More "Yes sirs," sounded, and he slapped the rear door control. It opened too slowly for Ronon's liking, and he was out before the door was halfway to the ground. Six heavily armed, burly Marines surrounded Dr Beckett, which he was quite okay with. He'd never felt safer. They quickly cleared the immediate area, and the Sgt gave the signal to move. Lorne was the last out of the Jumper, and as he brought up the rear, he reactivated the ship's cloak. He clicked his radio. "Dr McKay this is Lorne, do you copy?"

He had barely finished speaking when a very relieved sounding scientist hurriedly answered. "Yes, yes I copy. Hurry up and get over here. I hope you brought Carson with you. Sheppard's really in bad shape."

The Major didn't like the sound of that, and they picked up the pace.

~~~SGA~~~

Rodney never thought he'd be as relieved to see Ronon as he was in that moment. The large dreadlocked man burst into their little hiding spot, and McKay nearly sobbed in relief. Carson was not far behind, and immediately began accessing his patient. Lorne ordered the Marines to form a protective perimeter, and keep a sharp eye out. Rodney nervously watched Carson work, waiting for the Scot to say anything about Sheppard's condition.

The capable doctor worked quickly and carefully, first checking the Colonel's temperature and sluggish pupil response. "He's got a temp of 102.9 degrees. Rodney, get some ice packs from our supplies. We've got to cool him down a bit." McKay scrambled to do as he asked. Dr Beckett turned to the nearest Marine. "Get the stretcher ready lad. We need to move out as quickly as possible." He turned back to his patient, and starting peeling off the sodden bandage. He was shocked at the nature of Colonel Sheppard's injury. "He said he thought the natives used splintering bullets," Rodney answered his unasked question. "He managed to push me out of the way, and even run on that leg." Carson looked up into Rodney's eyes in disbelief. "I don't see how he could stand upright a'tall, much less put any weight on it," he replied. He pulled out several clean field dressings, and began washing the wound out as best he could with a saline rinse. He then packed the wound with gauze, and taped it securely. Motioning to a nearby Marine, he asked, "Son, do you know how to start an IV?" The young soldier nodded sharply. "Two years as a combat medic sir." Carson smiled at the young man's eagerness. "Come on then, help me get a morphine drip started, then we'll start a saline IV to get his fluids up." Rodney backed up out of the way, and went over to stand by Teyla. She placed her hands on his shoulders and leaned her forehead to his. Rodney was incredibly grateful she was here. "He will be alright Rodney," she said quietly. "He is very strong." McKay sighed, hoping she was right.

Carson motioned for the other Marines to bring in the stretcher, and they carefully lifted the Colonel onto it. Lorne quickly ordered everyone into position, and gave the signal to move out.

~~~SGA~~~

Space in the Jumper was even more crowded now, with the stretcher taking up most of the room. But no one minded at all. Rodney stared at the sickly pale looking face of his best friend, partially obscured by an oxygen mask. He couldn't bear to think about the worth case scenario. "How is he doing Carson?" he asked quietly. Dr Beckett sighed, and looked up to meet Rodney's worried gaze. "I don't know for sure right now Rodney. His vitals aren't measuring well, and he's lost a lot of blood. Not to mention, the damage to his leg is extensive. Did he say anything at all about the pain level?" McKay swallowed hesitantly. "It was about two hours before you found us. He said he felt like crap. Said he couldn't feel his leg from the knee down, but the wound itself hurt a lot." Carson's face scrunched into a worried grimace. "I was afraid o' that. With a wound like he's got, I would pretty much have to assume there'll be some nerve damage." Rodney's face paled, and he felt sick. Beckett handed him a water bottle. "Easy lad. We don't know any of that for certain." Just then, Lorne announced that they were about to enter the event horizon. Almost home, Rodney thought. At last.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: *giggles* I'm thrilled at the fact that anyone has enjoyed my little brain fart of a story. I hope I can whip up a satisfactory ending for y'all. I'm excited to finally have the urge to write and a working computer with which to post stories. Again, not a doctor, so I hope I wrote the medical stuff to be at least slightly believable. *crosses fingers*

Chapter 4

Elizabeth stood on the balcony overlooking the gate room. The Stargate was active, and she had given the order to lower the shield, after Lorne's IDC was confirmed. The Jumper rematerialized a moment later, and went into autopilot, returning to the Bay. Lorne radioed the infirmary that they had a patient inbound. Elizabeth nodded to Chuck, "You know where I'll be." She practically flew down the stairs and to the infirmary entrance. Carson and his team arrived pushing the stretcher through the doors mere seconds after her. He barked out several orders, and various assistants scrambled to follow them. Monitors were attached, more IV's were started. Carson ordered the mobile X-ray unit to be brought immediately. A nurse began sponging the Colonel's face and neck with a cool cloth, trying to bring his fever under control. Carson went to scrub up, hoping he'd be able to save the Colonel's leg.

He got prepped in record time, and a nurse informed him that the OR was ready and waiting. He took a deep breath and mentally prepared himself. "Right. Let's do this," he said to himself. He followed the nurse to the OR and pushed through the door with his shoulder. "Alrighty lass, fill me in on our situation," he said to his lead nurse. She grabbed a data pad, and began. "We've got several bags of O- blood warmed and ready to go. His vitals haven't improved much, but they are remaining steady. X-rays show several pieces of bullet fragment in the wound, as well as a shattered femur. We've started him on a powerful antibiotic to combat the infection, and it seems to have helped a little. The anesthesiologist is ready on your go-ahead."

Dr Beckett thanked her and motioned for anesthesia to be added to the Colonel's oxygen supply. Soon the Colonel was fully unconscious, and Carson said a quick prayer for steady hands. Above him, in the Observation Room, Elizabeth and the rest of Sheppard's team waited anxiously. Rodney paced back and forth, not wanting to watch, but still wanting to be there for his friend. Time passed incredibly slowly, but finally Dr Beckett straightened his back, and looked up at them. "I've done what I can for now. I don't want to risk taxing his body any more." Rodney looked at his watch. Dr Beckett had been in surgery for almost 7 hours. No wonder the man wanted to take a break, for his sake as much as Sheppard's.

The team waited anxiously as Carson washed up and took off his bloody scrubs, and made his way up to them. He wearily sat down in a chair, and scrubbed his face with his hands. Teyla handed him a fresh cup of black coffee. "Oh bless you lass," he murmured, breathing in the steam from the cup. He could feel four sets of eyes boring into him, so he figured he'd better get started. "Right, well let's get on with it. The Colonel sustained a terrible gunshot wound to his lower thigh, which broke his femur into several fragments. I placed several rods and pins in there to help with healing and to stabilize the bone. There is also extensive muscle and tissue damage, most notably the rectus femoris, the main muscle of his thigh. I also had to do several vein splices, which means I had to take a piece of healthy vein from his other leg, and use it to replace the damaged ones. I'm happy to say I was able to restore complete blood flow to his foot, which is a very good sign. Now, the primary concern is nerve damage, because I won't know the extent of that until he wakes up and is able to tell me what he can feel. The best news I think is the fact that he will keep his leg."

Rodney looked a little squeamish, but managed to blurt out, "But if he will still be able to walk is the real kicker here." Carson nodded patiently. "Yes Rodney, that is still a real concern." Elizabeth smiled appreciatively at the good doctor, and barely managed to contain a yawn, as it was now getting late. "Call me if anything changes okay Doctor? I'll be on my office couch," she said quietly. "Aye lass, I doubt I'll be sleepin any for the time being anyway," he replied. Teyla and Ronon made no effort to leave, and Rodney was already engrossed in something on his laptop. He should've known that they wouldn't leave. He chuckled to himself, and asked the staff to make room for 3 chairs near Sheppard's bed. Teyla smiled gratefully as they made their way down to their injured friend. Once everyone was settled he issued a warning. "You three must be ready to move yourselves and your chairs out of the way at a moment's notice. He probably won't wake for awhile yet, so don't get ye hopes up just yet. If anything changes, I'll be in my office 'round the corner." Teyla stood up and hugged him gently, which he gladly accepted. He smiled at them all, and retreated to his office. Rodney settled himself into his chair, cradling a muffin and his 6th cup of coffee already that day. He'd missed the stuff terribly while they had been stuck on that lame excuse for a planetary body. He had already deleted P78-570 from the database, permanently. He just hoped Sheppard would pull through this latest mishap with flying colors, as usual. He certainly regretted being the main reason Sheppard was injured to begin with, because if he hadn't been so slow to start running, John probably wouldn't have gotten his leg nearly blown off. Guilt tore at his insides, and he really wanted nothing more than to hide in his lab for the rest of eternity. But he needed to stay, needed to make sure Sheppard would make it through the night.

~~~SGA~~~

The first thing he was aware of was the sensation of floating. Thankfully there was no pain. He couldn't decide if that was a good thing or not. Faint voices faded in and out, never loud enough for him to understand the words. He tried harder to hear what was being said, and slowly the feeling of floating faded, and he felt a dull ache radiating from his right leg. His brain felt like it was full of cotton. Carson's painkillers no doubt. Attempting to open his eyes was a mistake, as bright white light assaulted his retinas. He squeezed them shut again, not sure if the quiet groan he heard came from himself. He heard a single voice say his name, and felt a warm hand on his arm. A soft female voice. Teyla, he thought. He heard another far less pleasant voice order someone to turn down the lights. That would be Rodney, his brain informed him. He tried again to open his eyes, this time succeeding. Blurry faces stared back at him in anticipation. He blinked a few times, trying to clear the cobwebs. His mouth was dry as a desert, and his voice didn't seem to be able to form the words needed to ask for water. Someone seemingly read his mind, and he felt a straw touch his lips a moment later. He drank greedily, savoring the moisture. He heard a familiar Scottish voice ask him to try to open his eyes again. He tried once more, and the infirmary ceiling of Atlantis greeted him. Home. He was safe. He looked around slowly, seeing the faces of his team, and Carson. He tried to say hi but all that came out was a grunt, followed by a forceful cough. "Easy lad. You've had quite the adventure the past few days. Rest now, we'll all be here when you wake up," Dr Beckett patted his shoulder gently, and John let himself slip back into oblivion.

Carson stepped back away from the bed. "Aye, now I can say I think he's out of the worst of it. Why don't ya all go have a decent bite to eat and some shut eye?" Rodney looked a little peeved. "That's it? He's been unconscious for 4 days now and we still can't talk to him?"

Dr Beckett sighed and met McKay's annoyed look. "Rodney, the man's been through a lot. We can't expect him to make it through two major surgeries and hop right back into action now can we?"

Rodney shrugged. "Well this is Sheppard we are talking about," he said plainly. Carson just shook his head and walked back to his office. Maybe tonight he would actually get a decent amount of sleep, for the first time in almost a week. Colonel Sheppard certainly was his most frequent patient, and Carson jokingly thought to himself that he should offer the Colonel a 'Frequent Flyer' membership card. Still chuckling at his own joke, he made his way over to his couch, or crashpad as his nurses had named it, for those rough nights he couldn't leave the infirmary. The past five days had been awful, and he was immensely grateful that the Colonel looked to be on the mend.


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: WEEEE! This story is running longer than I anticipated, but I'm enjoying the challenge. I wrote a new summary and may have to think of a new title, because this little adventure has expanded way beyond my original plan, hehe. To my guest reviewers: thank you so much for the encouraging words! :D I'm just giggly with happiness._

 _To sheppardlover928: Hopefully this chapter clarifies some things for you, and that I was able to explain things enough._

 _To Dernhelm62: thank you so much! I'm so happy you like it. And in my eyes Stargate will never die! (Well SGU didn't do it any favors.) We desperately need a reunion of some sort!_

Chapter 5

John was seriously getting sick of staring at the walls and ceiling of the infirmary. His team had never left him alone completely, bringing him movies and books, and Ronon snuck him junk food behind Carson's back. But being stuck in this awful room was killing him. His leg was encased in a large heavy brace, from upper thigh to ankle. He was sure the darn thing weighed at least fifty pounds. He hadn't been to even use the bathroom without the help of two nurses and a wheelchair. The whole situation was incredibly frustrating. Dr Beckett had seemed optimistic that he'd regain full use of his leg. But after the painful second surgery that didn't help his condition any, the Colonel was beginning to doubt that. It'd had been almost a month since he was injured, and he still couldn't move his right foot at all. Beckett had started him on once daily regimen where his brace was removed and a nurse would massage his leg, to stimulate blood flow, and nerve regeneration, as he put it. John didn't enjoy being helpless, but he couldn't do anything about his current situation. So he sulked. Day after day his team would come by, bringing him some sort of entertainment, or just an offer to keep him company. But he wasn't receptive. They finally got the message that he wanted to be left alone, so they came less and less frequently. Rodney had come on multiple occasions to give him mission reports. Though he was the commanding military officer of Atlantis, who needed to be kept in the loop, he didn't enjoy hearing about his team being in occasional danger without him there. Rodney seemed to pick up on that and began giving Lorne the briefings. John knew that he was being unreasonable, and downright rude sometimes, but he didn't really care. Being crippled didn't appeal to someone who'd spent most of his adult life in military action. He knew the day was fast approaching when some shrub from Stargate Command would come relieve him of his duty, and he'd be shipped back to the States with a medical discharge. He would hijack a Jumper and take off to the Athosian settlement and retire there before he'd let that happen. He was torn out of his jumbled thoughts when Rodney burst into the infirmary, excitedly calling his name. "I'm still where I have been for the past month Rodney," he said rather annoyed. McKay plopped himself and his data pad down in the chair beside the bed and heaved a breath. "We just returned from exploring T90-632 and we found an Ancient outpost. It was completely torn apart, looked like it had abandoned for centuries, but I managed to route enough power through one of the consoles, because I'm a genius you know." Sheppard just watched Rodney silently, and waited for him to continue. Rodney looked like he was waiting on a reaction, but when he didn't receive one, he just cleared his throat and hit a few buttons on the tablet. "The power supply didn't last very long, but I was able to condense and transfer several hundred gigabytes of data to my hard drive. If I can decipher it, we may have a way to fix you." The Colonel stared at him in disbelief. "How exactly does finding an outpost help me walk again Rodney?" he asked pointedly. McKay coughed and looked sheepish. "Oh I forgot to mention a critical detail. The outpost was a medical research facility. At least, that's what I think it was. I mean we know the Ancients conducted tons of scientific research, but we haven't really discovered any of their medical stuff until now. They seemed to be researching all sorts of human ailments, from what little I managed to gather from some dusty notes lying around. If there is something in that data that will help you, I will find it."

John sighed and leaned his head back. He didn't want to get his hopes up only to be disappointed. He'd had that happen too much. Rodney coughed quietly, reminding Sheppard that he was still there. "Listen," the scientist began. "I know it sucks being cooped up in here for as long as you have been. I'm going to find a way to help you walk again . . . because it's my fault it happened to you." He self-consciously rubbed his elbow and stared at the floor. He felt John's eyes boring into him. "Now why on Earth would you think that Rodney?" Sheppard asked incredulously. "I know I've been hard to get along with recently, but surely you didn't start thinking it was because I blamed you?" McKay didn't look up from staring at a spot on the infirmary floor. "Rodney, look at me. I don't now and never did blame you for this. I would do it again if I had to. I blame the crappy luck we seem to have on missions, I blame the idiot who shot me. But not you. And I'm sorry I've been so inconsiderate lately." McKay finally looked up and met his gaze. "You mean that?" Sheppard huffed a laugh and shook his head. "Of course I do. And thanks for doing all you have to try and cheer me up. I know I didn't make it easy." He said hesitated a bit before continuing. "Do you think you could get Ronon and Teyla in here? I think I owe them apologies as well." Rodney quickly turned back into his normal snarky self. "I'm pretty sure you do. You turned down watching Star Wars again with Conan, so I'm sure he'll never forgive you." John laughed, the first real laugh he'd managed in quite some time. It felt good, freeing even. Just then Carson whistled his way in, surprised to see the Colonel and McKay actually laughing, a sight he had dearly missed. "Well now Colonel, I take it yer feeling a wee bit better?" he asked. John looked at him somberly, and then looked down at his hands. "I'm sorry I've been such a terrible patient Doc. I had no reason to treat you all the way I did. I owe you for saving my life multiple times. So yeah . . . I'm sorry."

Dr Beckett patted his shoulder. "Think nothing of it lad. I can't say as I blame ya for feelin' the way ye did. You've had a bloody lot to overcome."

John shook his head. "That's no excuse. I was wrong."

Carson shrugged his shoulders. "Aye, you're forgiven son. Let's forget the whole thing now and focus on gettin' ye back into fightin' form."

John leaned back against his pillow. That sounded quite alright to him.

~~~SGA~~~

Rodney had be pouring over his laptop for hours on end, writing various programs to decrypt and translate all the Ancient data he'd recovered from T90-632. It was taking too long for his liking. After another hour of staring at the program's status bar eeking its way across the screen, he paused the decryption software. Maybe this wasn't going to work after all. He barely noticed Zelenka enter his lab and plop himself down at the table. "Why not run the data on multiple computers, and write a program that would simultaneously translate, identify, and bookmark keywords, such as 'paralysis'?" Radek said quietly. "It could possibly be faster." Rodney mentally smacked himself in the face. "Radek you are a genius!" He hurriedly got to work putting that idea into a program. Zelenka chuckled to himself and left. As much as the little Czech annoyed Rodney, he was certainly very helpful sometimes. McKay thought he'd have to think of a way to thank his fellow scientist if this worked. Surprisingly it only took a few moments to get the groundwork for the software in place. Rodney grabbed another computer with more power, and hooked them together. Another few minutes, and he thought it was ready. He hit the start key and held his breath. Within seconds both computers dinged with results, and he nearly squealed in excitement. He'd radioed for Zelenka to come back and help him sort through the data, after all two sets of eyes are better than one. Radek arrived not two minutes later, two cups of steaming coffee and a package of cookies in his hands. Bless him, Rodney thought, although a mumbled "Thanks" was all he said out loud. He clicked his earpiece. "Carson do you copy?" A moment later the Scottish lilt came through his radio. "Aye Rodney, what is it?" McKay excitedly began detailing his program, and then asked the doctor to give Sheppard his radio. "I'm here Meredith," John chimed in, sounding pleased with himself. McKay rolled his eyes. "I knew you'd talk Conan into giving you an earpiece," he pretended to complain. "But anyway, I guess you heard all that?"

John snickered to himself before replying, clearly enjoying his own jokes. "Yes I did. I guess there's something else?"

Rodney sighed, loud enough that he was sure Sheppard heard it. "Well I wanted to see if you wanted to break out of that boring infirmary and come see my program in action? That is if you're not too busy laughing at my expense." He practically heard the wheels turning in Sheppard's head as the Colonel registered what he said. Rustling noises and a slightly pained grunt came through the radio, followed by a hearty "I'll be there before you can say Puddle Jumper!"

Rodney chuckled to himself at the sound of Sheppard's enthusiasm. He turned back to his laptop, watching the software's progress. There was a nice list of references so far, so he began having the computer sort by relevance. He looked over the first few hits on the list, finding a name that seemed to stand out. A few moments later Sheppard wheeled his way into the lab with a very unhappy looking Dr Beckett. "Now Rodney I don't like this a'tall. The Colonel needs to be in bed, resting." Sheppard waved his hand in the air. "The Colonel is right here Doc. I've been in bed too long already, and I need this." He looked pleadingly at Carson, who let out a long-suffering sigh and nodded his permission. John motioned for Rodney to begin. The scientist cleared his throat and launched into a long-winded spiel. "Okay, you know about the outpost and all that. From what I've gathered so far from our database here on Atlantis, the lead researcher at this facility was a guy named Agusto, which roughly translated means "deserving of respect," so we can hope he wasn't conducting experiments on live humans and all that horribleness. I still have quite a bit of data to go through, but this is a good start. And Radek also came up with the idea on how to sort through it all faster."

Sheppard nodded gratefully at the other scientist, who was practically beaming at Rodney giving him credit. McKay rolled his eyes and muttered, "don't get used to it."

John barely managed to contain his good-natured smirk aimed at Rodney. "So what's the next step?" he asked, getting right to the point. McKay just shrugged. "We wait and see what we've got. It could be a huge discovery or a whole pile of nothing."

The Colonel nodded thoughtfully. "If that stuff tells you where to find a ZPM, that's your Christmas present," he said, eyes twinkling. Rodney grimaced and waved his hand dismissively. "Oh har har, the master of comedy strikes again."

John just grinned, and was surprised at how good he was feeling. "Doc, you don't have to stay," he said amicably. "Rodney will take care of me."

Carson scoffed and muttered "cheeky little bugger," under his breath as he walked out. A moment later, he popped his head around the corner. "Colonel, no moving from that chair. If you start to feel worse at any time, Rodney will bring you back to my boring infirmary." Sheppard gave him a mock salute, followed by his most innocent grin. Beckett rolled his eyes and left. John turned back to McKay. "Okay give me something to do. Transfer some of the list to a tablet and I'll see what I can find."

Rodney looked a little shocked. Sheppard didn't usually volunteer to do computer related things, but he guessed the man was about to explode from boredom. So he just shrugged, and hooked up a tablet to his computer array. The transfer took only a couple of minutes, and then he handed the device to the Colonel. "Have fun, and don't break that," he said, only half serious. John accepted the tablet with an exaggerated eye-roll. The three of them fell into companionable silence, with the occasional yawn from McKay the only disruption. After almost two hours John felt himself getting tired. Nothing had seemed promising so far, and that was somewhat discouraging. He wiped a hand across his brow and discovered he was sweating a lot. Rodney glanced up and looked a little surprised. "I don't think you were that pale when you came in here," he commented.

Sheppard threw him a glare. "I think I should get back to the infirmary now," he mumbled quietly. McKay wordlessly grabbed hold of the wheelchair handles and pushed him out of lab and toward the infirmary.


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: It's me again :0 Short note this time (maybe). This story has completely changed on me! I originally intended it to be 3 chapters at most. But now it seems a slight edit is needed, because I don't feel like the title works with what it has become. As always, thanks a bunch for each review, and I hope I can keep improving. :)_

Chapter 6

Sheppard leaned back against his pillow. Man it felt good to lie down again. His little field trip to Rodney's lab felt good, but also wore him out. He still had the tablet so he could continue looking at the outpost data, which was more exciting than re-watching another Spiderman movie with Ronon. Not that he'd tell the larger man that. He relaxed for a moment, just enjoying how soft the bed was. He plucked the tablet off the table next to him, and began scrolling through the newest results. Rodney had connected it to Atlantis' wireless comm network so he could automatically be sent the newest data. Sometimes he was amazed at the things the scientist could do, not that that would ever be mentioned in McKay's presence. He resumed looking over the data. The guy that Rodney had mentioned kept popping up in various ways. Suddenly his eyes zeroed in on something. The note looked like a journal entry. It mentioned a machine that the guy, Agusto, was working on, that theoretically would have the ability to heal any ailment. Sheppard tried to not get his hopes up too quickly. He grabbed his earpiece that he had tossed on the table and clicked the comm button. "Rodney come in."

A second later McKay replied, "What is it Colonel? I thought you gonna take a nap?"

"I was, but I found something you should look at," John said. A slight pause, and McKay hastily said he was on his way. Just then Carson bustled in, and looked surprised to see John in his bed. "Aye Colonel, I thought I would have ta come drag ye back here myself. Kickin' and screamin'," he said with a grin. Sheppard grinned lazily. "Oh you know me Doc. Wouldn't wanna overdo anything."

Carson scoffed and proceeded to check the Colonel's chart. "Feelin' any pain or discomfort anywhere?"

John shook his head. "I feel okay Doc. Just a little tired, and my thigh feels a little sore." Dr Beckett nodded and reached for a syringe. Sheppard raised his hand. "Uh none of that now Doc. Rodney is on his way to look at something with me. Gotta have a clear head."

Carson sighed and put down the syringe. "Alright lad, I'll give ya a few minutes to chat. But afterwards you are to rest."

Sheppard held up two fingers in a mock salute. "Scout's honor Doc," he said with a mischievous smile. Beckett rolled his eyes and went back to his office. It was then that McKay burst in carrying his laptop under his arm precariously and a tray of food from the mess hall in his hands. "I hope you don't mind, I brought the snacks," he said cheerfully. John looked at the amount of food on the tray and then back at Rodney. "Snacks for you and what army Rodney?" he asked jokingly. McKay feigned a look of hurt and set the tray down a little too forcefully. "Well if you're gonna act like that I won't give you the chocolate chip muffin," he said, knowing full well that that was Sheppard's favorite. The Colonel's mouth watered at the mention of it, and he snatched it off the tray and took a huge bite before Rodney could even blink. He just smiled innocently while he chewed. McKay looked appalled at his manners, or lack thereof, and just sank into his chair. "If you're done acting like a Neanderthal, we could look over what you found," he said somewhat annoyed. Sheppard pointed to the tablet on his lap. "It looks like a journal entry, by that guy Agusto," he said. "It says he was working on a machine that could heal any human sickness or injury." Rodney grabbed the tablet and began scanning it. After a minute he looked up. "It certainly sounds promising. I'll update my program to narrow down more mentions of this 'machine' and we'll see what we can find."

He radioed Zelenka and asked him to make the necessary changes. He turned back to see Sheppard put down the remaining half of his muffin down and the tray and lean back, closing his eyes. "You alright Colonel?" he asked. John cracked one eye open. "Yeah, just tired Rodney. I'll just take a nap and then I'll be good as new. Well, almost."

McKay nodded and quietly left the infirmary. He went back to his lab where Zelenka had just finished typing the final commands into the program, and together they watch the results come in. Rodney really wanted to find something, anything, that would help Sheppard get better. Because while the man was irritating to a fault, he was also fiercely loyal and protective of every person on Atlantis. Rodney really didn't want to be faced with getting used to a new military commander, one who would be worse than Sheppard in every possible way. Zelenka snapped his fingers to get Rodney's attention. "Look at this! It's another journal entry, dated later than the other one," he said excitedly. "It says how the other Ancients didn't approve of his research, because part of humans' evolution includes doing our own medical studies." McKay scoffed and rubbed his eyes. "Typical Ancients. Too righteous to bother with helping eradicate disease."

Zelenka shrugged. "What do you think it means?"

It was Rodney's turn to shrug. "I have no idea. I'm gonna search Atlantis' database for all references to this guy and what he was doing." He left his lab and went to Atlantis' main database, located under the Control Room. It had a massive amount of computer power, and he knew he'd get faster results from searching there. A few keystrokes later, and he had his program running with Atlantis' computer power behind it. A lot of the first results were copies of copies, and he had to narrow down the criteria further. After another minute or two, a video file popped up in the results. Intrigued, he clicked on it. A rather young looking Ancient stood in front of the camera, looking nervous. The computer automatically began translating his words, due to Rodney's program. "My name is Agusto," he began. "My peers do not know I am making this recording, so I must be quick about it. All I ever wanted was to be a healer, to help people. Now it seems my colleagues are too busy with their own affairs to bother with helping anyone." He paused, looking up quickly. "But I think they are wrong," he continued. "My hope is that my work will greatly aid in this battle with the Wraith, and with human evolution as a whole. I must keep this project a secret for now, but if you are watching this, I beg you: find my work and use it save people. I now go into hiding, because even now, I fear I am being watched. I will update as I can." The screen went black, and Rodney leaned back in his chair in shock. He hurriedly searched through more of the results, and found 3 more videos. He hooked up his tablet and quickly downloaded them to it. He tapped his earpiece. "Elizabeth, get everyone to the briefing room, even Sheppard. I found something."

* * *

Everyone hurried to the BR on Rodney's orders, and he dashed in a moment later, wheezing a little. "Hey calm down McKay, we don't need you hyperventilating on us," Sheppard said snarkily. Rodney glared at him and plopped down in his seat. After a few breaths, he launched into his explanation. "Okay we found that Agusto guy from the data I collected from T90-632. Today's discovery is a series of 4 videos he recorded in secret about his research. I've watched the first one, and it is basically him saying he has to go into hiding because the other Ancients are too stuck up to bother with helping humans, and don't approve of his research." He paused for another breath. "Since each successive video has more recent dates, I assume it's sort of his version of a video diary."

The room was quiet, waiting for him to continue. He stood and plugged in his tablet to the monitor that was on the wall above them. He pulled up the second video and clicked play. Agusto's face was shrouded in shadow this time, and his voice echoed like he was in a hollow chamber. "I believe I have found safety for the time being. It is only I, my brother Antonius, and my assistant, Markus. I trust no one else. This research is more important than anything I've ever done, and I hope I am doing the right thing by going against the council." He looked sad for a moment. "Father, if you ever see this, I am sorry. But this is what I must do, for the sake of humanity."

Rodney paused the video, and the BR was silent, everyone absorbing what they had just heard. "Sounds like a good guy," Ronon rumbled. Sheppard nodded in agreement. "Play the video McKay."

Rodney did as he was told, and the video cut to a new room, bigger with brighter lights. Agusto stepped into view, and held up a small device. "After a lot of research and study, this is my first prototype. It should have the ability to heal minor abrasions and bruises. My brother Antonius has agreed to let me test it on him." He turned and his brother came into view, sitting on a chair. He held out his arm, and pulled out a knife. Elizabeth let out a little gasp. Antonius proceeded to drag the knife over his forearm, leaving a long but seemingly not deep wound. Agusto took his device and held it over the cut, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. The device suddenly lit up brighter than a Christmas tree, filling the dark room with glowing white light. It whited out the camera for a moment, then lessened. Antonius cried out, gripping his chair with his other hand. Agusto gasped, and the light blinked out. "Brother, are you well?" He asked quickly. Antonius blinked a few times, and held up his arm. "It is healed," he said breathlessly. "It worked Brother!" They hugged each other gleefully. Agusto turned toward to camera, holding up the device. "Phase 1 was a success," he said exuberantly. "Now we move on the next phase. A bigger version of this device and a more grievous wound." The screen went black, and everyone in the BR let out their held breaths. Rodney cleared his throat. "Well he's certainly a determined guy," he muttered.

Sheppard motioned to Rodney. "Play all the videos McKay."

The scientist clicked on the next video, and hit play. This time the camera faced a large table, and two large Ancient looking consoles. Agusto came into the frame with a big smile on his face. "Progress has been slow with our second prototype, but I am confident we are going in the right direction." He motioned to Antonius, who sat on the table. They locked eyes for a brief moment, and Agusto's voice waivered. "Are you sure about this Brother?"

Antonius nodded, "Just get on with it." Agusto gulped visibly, and brought his arm into frame. It held what looked like a piece of solid metal, about one foot in length. Antonius held out his arm, and without warning, Agusto brought the metal stick down onto his forearm. A sickening _snap_ echoed through the room, followed by a harsh scream. Agusto looked sick, and quickly tossed the stick to the ground. He eased his brother down on the table, and his assistant, Markus, wheeled over a large console looking device. He placed it near the table, and the camera's view was partially obstructed for several moments. The BR was silent, everyone holding their breath. The device whirred on, and another piercing scream broke the tenuous silence. Agusto turned to the device's controls, hurried pushing buttons. "I do not know why it is not working Brother!" he cried out. "Markus, give him some medicine for the pain," he ordered. "It should've worked," he continued, more to himself than anyone else. Antonius's cries had calmed, and he looked to be nearing unconsciousness. Agusto turned to the camera. "Ancestors forgive me," he whispered, then the screen cut to black.

Everyone in the BR released their pent-up breaths, and Carson looked ready to vomit. "Aye, well we know the man's a thorough bugger," he muttered. Sheppard nodded at Carson. "Maybe that will prove to be a good thing Doc. Play the last video McKay."

Rodney again did as he was asked, and the final video began. Although this time it was Agusto in the chair, and Antonius stood in front of the camera. Agusto looked straight ahead. "It is time for the final test," he said nervously. "Antonius will deal a grievous wound to my torso, and we all will pray that my machine is successful. If it is not, I will say my goodbyes knowing that I put forth all possible effort." He nodded to Antonius, who plunged the knife into his gut. Nearly everyone in the briefing room gasped audibly, and a few turned away. Markus and Antonius quickly picked up Agusto, who writhed and groaned, bleeding profusely, and laid him on the table. Markus quickly pushed the large device beside him, and turned it on. A loud hum sounded, and Antonius hurriedly pushed buttons. Agusto cried out in anguish, and then was silent. The machine whirred louder, and the light was blinding. All the Atlantis personnel could hear was Antonius begging the Ancestors to help him. After several agonizing moments, the machine shut off, and Antonius was leaning over his brother, concern etched on his face. Suddenly Agusto gasped and jolted upright. "It worked!" he managed between heaving breaths. The brothers embraced, and Markus let out a yell of excitement. Agusto lept off the table, and stood close to the camera. "I am thrilled at this result. I hope to make a thousand of these machines and heal every person in this galaxy of disease. Unfortunately, until the High Council sees the benefit of this, it must be kept a secret. But by the time anyone sees this, I will probably be long dead." He sighed sadly. "If you are watching this, whomever you are, I pray your heart is kind, and your desires anything but selfish. Use this device for good, I beg of you. I have hidden instructions in my work, so you may find where I have kept the machine. Farewell, my brethren." The video faded to black.

Rodney looked up at everyone. "Well now that we know he was successful, the search for where to find it just became priority number one."

Carson looked excited now. "Imagine the lives I could save with a device like that," he whispered. "No one would ever bleed out on my table again." Sheppard clapped him on the back and smiled. He met Rodney's gaze. "Now all we gotta do is find it."


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: :) I'm kinda tired of this story now to be honest! Haha. My imagination just snatched it out of my control and ran away with it! I hope you enjoy the rest. Thanks a ton for reviews, as always. :D_

Chapter 7

Over the course of the next several days, Rodney hardly looked up the his laptop screen. The Atlantis database was not exactly a gold mine of information about Agusto and his work. It seemed like the Ancients hardly tolerated the guy. Only a few minor mentions of him showed up, and Rodney was left with only the data he'd collected from T90-632. Which contained more than one scientist's' experiments as he was discovering. Sheppard came by occasionally to help him look over stuff, but Carson would always come shoo him back to the infirmary. While the man's temperament had improved, he still looked angry and frustrated a lot. Rodney could understand why, and he even sympathized. But Sheppard didn't want anyone's pity, so McKay didn't show any. He insulted and bantered with the Colonel as if everything was normal. Then one day their new normal was shattered. The Colonel wheeled into Rodney's lab looking angry. Before McKay could even ask him what was wrong, Sheppard exploded into a medal-worthy rant. "They're ordering me back to the SGC," he seethed. "Elizabeth let it slip about my injury and they demanded to know everything! She tried to tell them about this machine we're trying to find, but they wouldn't listen! Rodney, I can't go back. I _can't_ get thrown out of the Air Force like this." He looked close to hyperventilating. His eyes threatened to overflow, and McKay was in shock at the Colonel showing his emotions so freely. He felt his anger rising as well. "I won't let them do this to you either," he pledged. Sheppard just sighed and sank back into his wheelchair. "There's nothing you can do," he mumbled. "I'm gonna get Lorne to fly me to the Athosian settlement and stay there. It's my only option." Rodney gulped. "Won't you get in trouble for that?" he asked. John rubbed his eyes. "They can't do anything to me if they can't find me Rodney. I'll find a spot to camp alone for awhile, so they can't force any of you to tell them where I am." He turned and wheeled over to the door. "Please find that machine," he whispered, and then he was gone. McKay resumed typing furiously. He _couldn't_ let them ship Sheppard off to some vet's hospital where he wouldn't get the proper care, and his friends would be light years away, literally. He forced his brain to focus on the task at hand. He partitioned the hard drive into separate sections of ten gigabytes each, and hooked up a computer to search through each section. Maybe this way the results would come faster. He sat back, anxiously watching. His hypoglycemia was about to throw a fit, so he dug into his stash of powerbars. While chewing, his mind wandered back to Sheppard was injured. He still had nightmares about it, about the Colonel dying, and about his inability to do anything about it. He would do everything in his power to find this machine, or he would help Sheppard escape a life of misery on Earth, if it was the last thing he ever did. The computer dinging an alert brought him out of his memories quickly. He couldn't believe his eyes. Another journal entry, seemingly from Agusto. Although this one was encrypted beyond anything he'd ever seen. It had to contain the location of the machine. He hurriedly opened his best decryption program, and put it to work. Error messages repeatedly popped up, frustrating the scientist to the point of wanting to pull out his own hair. He made some adjustments, and it seemed to work. He rolled his chair over to his main computer, and began searching the database for any known addresses where Agusto was known to have worked. That way, if his decryption didn't work, they'd have somewhere to start. Again, the results weren't promising. Most of the references to Agusto were harsh critiques of his work, character, and friends. The poor guy was a pariah, ridiculed relentlessly after one failed experiment, Rodney discovered. No wonder he wanted his medical research to succeed so badly. A few gate addresses had popped up, and Rodney looked up each one in the database. Most were non-existent. A few looked plausible, so Rodney quickly forwarded his short list to Zelenka and Elizabeth. The next step would be to send MALPs to every address, and hope there were a few worth sending a team to. His radio crackled to life. "Rodney, it's Elizabeth.

We've got a MALP ready to send to the first address on your list. Will you be joining us?" McKay nearly choked on his bite of powerbar. "What, already?" he replied. Dr Weir chuckled quietly. "No sense in wasting time Doctor." Rodney stood hastily and said he was on his way. He grabbed his tablet that listed more addresses, and took off toward the Control Room.

* * *

Elizabeth paced the balcony overlooking the Stargate. Waiting was something she was never good at. The first address on Rodney's list was designated M65-423, and it was relatively close in proximity to Atlantis' planet. Rodney burst into the gate room and was bounding up the stairs faster than Elizabeth had ever seen him move. He skidded to a stop beside her, then heaved a deep breath. "Well get on with it," he barked at the nearest gate tech, who gave him a glare and mumbled under his breath. "Be nice Rodney," Sheppard ordered, as he shuffled behind them on his crutches. McKay glanced at the Colonel's new mode of transportation. "Carson finally let you get an upgrade huh?"

Sheppard grunted, and leaned on one arm while he rubbed his other armpit. "Not much of an upgrade, but better than the chair. Stairs everywhere are a pain though."

By now the gate was active, and the MALP technician was steering the robot through the wormhole, and the gate tech announced they would have telemetry in approximately ten seconds. For Sheppard, those ten seconds seemed to drag on forever. He had made a lot of progress, but it wasn't enough. He _needed_ this machine to be found, and to work. He couldn't imagine his life outside of Atlantis, and the family he'd found there. He shifted his weight on the crutches and felt the familiar ache above his knee. Although everything below that felt like nothing. He still woke up a lot of nights in a panic, checking and making sure he still had his leg. He was jerked out of his reverie when the gate tech announced the MALP had arrived, and was sending feedback. The planet looked barren, consisting only of red sand, which blew around the MALP forcefully and shook the camera. Rodney gazed at the readings, and his shoulders drooped. "These stats are all over the place, but the one constant is the temperature. About 93.3 degrees Celsius, or 200 Fahrenheit for you Americans." He glanced at Sheppard. "Even if we could endure those temperatures, there are no discernible energy signatures. And if there was once something there, it's probably long gone by now, eroded by all that hideous sand."

Sheppard nodded in understanding. Strike one. "Chuck, recall the MALP. We'll try the next one," Elizabeth said, trying to sound encouraging. John appreciated her efforts, but getting his hopes up now would only be a letdown. The MALP redialed the gate and sent its own unique IDC, and the shield was lowered. It emerged ten seconds later, coated in hot red sand. The tech operating it looked up at Elizabeth. "Ma'am, this MALP is going to need some repairs before we can send it out again," he said matter-of-factly. Dr Weir nodded. "Do what you have to do. Ready the other two MALPs. And Rodney," she said turning toward him. "We may need your expertise in constructing something to act as a MALP, should the three we have get damaged beyond repair."

Sheppard hunched forward on his crutches. "No Elizabeth, I'm not gonna let you put my teams in danger by using all of the MALPs. We need those for mission recon. Just use that one after it's repaired." He looked down at his leg. "Besides, I've waited this long, another hour isn't gonna kill me."

She nodded, but didn't look thrilled about it. "Mark, how long will that MALP take to repair?" she asked the tech. "Not long ma'am," he said cheerfully. "Just needs a good cleaning and some sensor adjustments."

Rodney turned and saw how much Sheppard was leaning on his crutches, so he grabbed the nearest unoccupied chair and pointed at it. "Sit down before you fall down Colonel."

Sheppard gave him a look of silent gratitude and eased himself down, sighing audibly. Rodney rolled his eyes in his direction and leaned toward Elizabeth, whispering, "That man would just die before asking for help."

She nodded in amused agreement. Just then Lorne showed up, and leaned against the wall next to Sheppard. "How's it going sir?" he asked.

The Colonel just shrugged. "First one's a dud, waiting on MALP repairs now," he replied. "How many are on that list McKay?"

Rodney scanned his tablet. "Around 27," he answered. "But most of them probably don't have anything to do with Agusto, they just surfaced in the search because of 'research' being a keyword," he added. "I narrowed it down before this too."

Sheppard yawned and leaned back against the wall. "So we'll probably be here awhile Major," he drawled.

Lorne motioned over his shoulder. "The guys wanted to know if you'd wanna come watch their sparring matches. They seem to wanna impress you or something," he said good naturedly. That got a chuckle out of the solemn Colonel, and he maneuvered his way up onto his crutches. "Lead the way." As they left, he waved at McKay. "You'll radio me if you find anything right Rodney?"

The scientist looked slightly annoyed. "You're the reason I'm doing all this extra work Sheppard, you think I won't let you know when my genius pays off?"

John snickered and resumed his hop-step walk down to the sparring room.

Rodney turned and tried to contain his smirk. Sheppard was one of the only people who could handle his attitude and give it right back. He'd missed their verbal sparring a lot more than he had realized. The MALP tech announced that they were ready to go, and Elizabeth instructed Chuck to dial the next address. Upon getting a lock, they sent the MALP. Telemetry was blurry and the toxic atmospheric readings made Rodney's heart sink. "Bring it back," he told the tech. "Nothing there anyway."

And so it went, for several hours. Fifteen addresses, one ruined MALP, and no results. Rodney's stomach growled repeatedly. Zelenka pushed him to go get something to eat, and said he would take over looking at the gate addresses. Rodney accepted the offer wordlessly and made his way to the mess hall. He bumped into Sheppard as he rounded a corner too fast. "Watch out Meredith," the Colonel snickered, as he adjusted his balance on the crutches. Rodney wasn't in the mood to be bothered though, so he side-stepped John and kept going. "Hey Rodney wait up," Sheppard called after him. McKay slowed his pace slightly while John attempted to catch up. He managed to get ahead of Rodney and cut him off again. "What?" Rodney snapped, harsher than he meant to. John look surprised, but quickly recovered. "What's eating you McKay? If it's about finding that dumb machine just stop beating yourself up about it."

Rodney snorted. "That ' _dumb machine'_ could save hundreds of lives Colonel. And I'm not beating myself up, I'm just hungry."

John stepped out of his way. "If you say so."

The slightly sad look on the Colonel's face as he walked away made Rodney regret letting his emotions get the better of him. He turned toward the Colonel's retreating back. "Wait John," he called out. Sheppard stopped and faced him questioningly. "Um, I'm pretty sure the mess hall still has some of those awful chocolate chip muffins you like," Rodney said hesitantly. John's eyes narrowed slightly as he limped forward. "As far as peace offerings go, that's a pretty good one," he drawled.

McKay sighed with relief. He wasn't good with apologies, so apparently mentioning muffins to Sheppard worked just as well, for future reference.

They walked the rest of the way to mess hall in amicable silence, and Rodney ordered John to sit while he got their food. "I could get used to you waiting on me Rodney," Sheppard said with his most annoying grin. Rodney scoffed. "Yeah well, don't bother flyboy."

Just then their earpieces were flooded with Zelenka's excited voice. "Rodney! We've got something. It is designated M7S-768, and there is a distinct energy signature being picked up by the MALP."

Both McKay and Sheppard almost choked on their food, and then stood quickly. "On our way Radek," Rodney replied, his gut twisting with hope and excitement. He had remind himself to slow down his pace enough so that John could keep up on his crutches. They rushed to the gate room and Radek quickly showed them the MALP footage. "Breathable atmosphere, lots of foliage," Rodney commented. He turned to Elizabeth with a genuine smile. "This one looks promising."

Ronon clapped Sheppard on the back so hard it was a wonder he didn't fall down the stairs. "Thanks big guy," he muttered, pretending to be angry.

Major Lorne stepped up behind Elizabeth. "Permission to go ma'am?"

Dr Weir smiled at his eagerness. "Yes Major. Ready your team. Take a few Marines with you just in case."

Lorne saluted loosely and left for the armory. Sheppard cleared his throat. "Uh, Elizabeth. I need to go. . . I mean they can't really go drag that thing back here in a Jumper."

Elizabeth considered his words thoughtfully. He did have a point. "Very well Colonel. I would like Dr Beckett to accompany you."

John's eyes brightened. "No argument from me." He clicked his radio. "Hey Doc, how do you feel about going on a mission with me?"

Beckett's reply was quick in coming. "What do you bloody mean son? You aren't steppin' foot outside Atlantis for awhile yet."

John's face split into a mischievous grin. "I got permission from the principal," he replied. Carson continued muttering under his breath after reluctantly agreeing. Sheppard turned and hopped down the stairs, more energy in his steps then he had had in a long time. Elizabeth silently prayed that they would find what they were looking for, because if anyone deserved a second chance, it was John Sheppard. The team assembled in record time, and Lorne piloted the Jumper down into the Gate Room as the Stargate was dialed. "Godspeed and good luck Major," Elizabeth said softly.

Lorne grinned in reply. "Thank you ma'am. Back in a jiffy!"

With that, the Jumper disappeared into the event horizon.


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: I'm soooo sorry it's taken me so long to post this. I just lost the inspiration to write and I kept forgetting. I hate that I've left you guys hanging for so long, I always hated when I was reading and the author seemingly fell off the earth. So anyway, if anyone is still reading I sincerely apologize :(._

Chapter 8

The Jumper emerged from the Stargate and Lorne capably steered it to the right, following McKay's instructions. Sheppard sat in the chair behind the pilot seat, his crutches leaning against the backrest. His leg stuck out in front of him, the cumbersome brace still something Carson wouldn't let him get rid of. He wore the normal BDU and tac vest, but forwent carrying the usual P-90, opting instead for a 9mm in a thigh holster, because the crutches made using the compact machine gun impossible. He felt incomplete without it, but there was enough firepower in this Jumper to win a small war, so he forced himself to relax. Teyla seemed to sense his unease and placed her hand softly on his shoulder. McKay mumbled to himself while studying his data pad intently. "Anything yet Doctor?" Lorne asked him. Rodney didn't acknowledge the question, his mind still preoccupied with the data. John reached out and kicked Rodney's chair with his good leg. "The Major asked you a question McKay."

Rodney jumped then just leveled a glare at Sheppard. "Well _Major,_ we aren't near enough yet. I'll let you know when and where to land."

Lorne nodded and grinned at John. "Nice one," he whispered.

Sheppard leaned back, pleased with himself. They flew on for several more klicks, finally coming upon a large rock outcropping, and what looked like a cave entrance. Rodney pointed to the left side. "There! Find somewhere to land near that. The signal is strongest around that cave thing." Lorne nodded and steered the ship in that direction. John sat forward in anticipation. This could be it, his chance to keep his life, his family on Atlantis. He held back a shudder. Not succeeding just wasn't an option. Lorne banked the Jumper and slowly lowered it down into a small clearing, about 200 feet from the rock formation. "Okay boys, it's time to get to work," he said cheerfully. "Colonel, we'll form up around you sir."

Sheppard looked mortified. "I don't need babysitters," he groused.

"I bloody think ye do lad," Carson piped up from behind a tall Marine. "I was going to suggest it if Lorne didn't. Plus ye can't climb up rocks with crutches."

Sheppard acquiesced to that point. He hoisted himself up on the crutches, and motioned for Lorne to lead the way. The Major took point, the rest of the group surrounded the Colonel and Dr Beckett. Ronon stood at Sheppard's right side, always the silent guardian. Teyla stepped into her spot on his left, with a supportive hand on his elbow. The rocky ground did make using crutches rather difficult, but Sheppard would never admit it. It only took a few minutes to reach the cave entrance, and McKay mumbled excitedly while waiting for the Marines to give the all clear. Once they had, he pushed through them and scanned the area with his palm scanner. The cave opened up with a wide arching ceiling, looking larger than it had from the outside. "Still no life signs," he announced. The Marines lowered their weapons slightly. Sheppard leaned on one of his crutches and shined his flashlight around the expanse. The light beam illuminated several small tunnels, each dipping further underground. "So should we play Eenie Meenie Rodney?" The Colonel asked nonchalantly. McKay rolled his eyes dramatically. "No, of course not," he said with a put-upon sigh. He pointed to the left. "I think that's our best bet, but something in this cave is messing with the signal. We could split up," he suggested. "Carson did insist on bringing enough men to fight a small war after all."

Dr Beckett sniffed and rolled his eyes. "Better safe than sorry me mum always said." John waved his hand. "Okay okay you guys calm down. Lorne, you take half the Marines and explore the left tunnel. Rodney, you stay with Ronon and I, and we'll check out the one next to it."

Lorne clapped the nearest Marine on the back and whistled good-naturedly. "Let's move out boys."

Rodney tossed the Major a spare LSD, adding, "Keep your radios on and check-ins every 5 minutes."

The groups parted and carefully made their way into the dark musty tunnels. Sheppard's crutches made a dull scraping noise against the hard ground. McKay stared intently at his data pad, analyzing the readings. The air seemed to get thicker and dust swirled around with each booted step. Sheppard coughed, half in jest and glanced at Rodney. "Anything yet?" he asked. McKay's gaze darted up and looked annoyed at having to break his concentration. "No, nothing. Believe me, I would say something if there was." John shrugged and continued his hitched gait. Carson was closely watching the Colonel's features for signs of fatigue, which he knew Sheppard was good at hiding. Sweat dripped into John's eye and he blinked it away with a grunt. Beckett silently grabbed a hold of Sheppard's wrist to check his pulse. "Come on Doc," John nearly whined. "I'm fine, it's just hot in here." The doctor fixed a stern gaze in his direction. "I'll be the judge of that lad." Sheppard huffed a breath and acquiesced. "Okay Doc, I'll let you know if I start feeling bad." He sold his story with a convincing grin. Carson eyed him a moment longer and muttered under his breath. They continued their ambling pace for several more minutes, the tunnel seemingly unchanging. Lorne's voice crackled through the radio, causing Rodney to jump. "Nothing so far on this end Colonel. We'll keep going. According to this scanner we are directly to the left of you guys."

Sheppard activated his earpiece. "Roger that Major. You guys be careful."

Lorne's grin could be heard in his voice. "Always are sir. Keep Dr McKay out of trouble."

Rodney didn't bother acknowledging to jab, much to John's disappointment. He continued pressing buttons repeatedly and mumbling to himself. Ronon's gravely voice broke the relative silence. "Sheppard, up ahead." All eyes immediately followed the path of light from the Satedan's flashlight. The Marines stopped and raised their weapons in a calm but alert stance. The light illuminated a human looking skull, long since decayed and covered with dirt. Teyla tilted her head, her acute senses at work. "I do not feel any presences here other than us," she stated quietly. Rodney gulped and inched closer. "Still no life signs," he said, his voice hushed. Colonel Sheppard motioned to the Marines. "Spread out, stay alert. I don't want to be eaten by a cave zombie today." He clicked his earpiece. "Major, we've got some human remains over here. McKay's checking it out, I'll relay more as I have it." Lorne's response was quick. "Copy that sir. Want us to head that direction?"

Sheppard leaned more against his crutches and wiped his brow. "Not necessary yet Major. You guys keep looking over there."

A succinct "Yes sir," followed, and John glanced back down at the remains.

Ronon leaned down to inspect the skull further. "Looks old," he commented dryly. "Rest of the body shouldn't be far away." He pushed the skull over and scooped up a string of blue beads that had been lodged in the skull's vertebrae. Rodney looked sick and started to turn away. "Wait! Let me see that." he said hurriedly. Ronon held out the beads for him to scrutinize after Rodney made it clear he didn't want to touch them. "I swear I've seen these somewhere before." he added breathlessly. He opened up a different app on his tablet and scrolled through several pages of data before a distinct 'Aha!' moment happened. He held up his tablet, which displayed a picture of Agusto in his lab. "I found this in one of the encrypted files in Atlantis' database," he explained. "Those beads look like the ones he's wearing in this picture." Sheppard glanced from Rodney to the decaying skull. "You mean we found this guy's remains?"

McKay nodded enthusiastically. "This means we are in the right place for sure now!" Sheppard held up a hand. "We don't know that Rodney. Any number of people could have a necklace like that."

McKay blew him off with a wave of his own. "Now who's being a negative Nancy?"

John chuckled. "I prefer Realistic Robert."

Rodney looked like his ears would bleed from the bad joke. "I'm working on my positivity okay Colonel? You're not helping."

Ronon interrupted their banter once again. "Hey, I think I found the rest of the dead guy," he said as he motioned them a few feet ahead. Sure enough, a headless skeleton rested against the tunnel wall, the remaining neck vertebrae broken at a grotesque angle. "Bet that hurt," Sheppard quipped. Ronon knelt down next to it and poked at the faded fabric that housed the body. After a moment he paused, leaning forward. Carefully peeling a piece of fabric away, he revealed a tiny notebook, dusty and falling apart. Rodney nearly squealed with excitement at the discovery, and hurriedly pulled out some latex gloves from Carson's medical kit. He delicately took it from Ronon's hand, and set it on the ground. He plopped down on a nearby rock and pulled out a hand-held magnifying glass from his backpack. "I guess we are stopping for now," John commented. Rodney didn't bother to look up from what he was doing. "Yes, yes, everybody take five, or whatever it is you military types say," he said distractedly. Carson noticed the pain lines emerging around the Colonel's eyes, and slightly pale hue to his skin. "Alrighty lad, let's set you down for a wee rest eh?"

For once Sheppard didn't complain, which Beckett counted as a win. Ronon wordlessly stepped closer and helped John lower himself to the ground. He sighed quietly and leaned his head back. "How's the pain lad?" Carson asked softly. Sheppard opened one eye slightly. "About a 6," he replied. Beckett patted his arm after taking his blood pressure again. "I have plenty of Tylenol, just say the word. I know you don't like the numbing shots," he added. John's face scrunched unhappily. "Those make my entire leg go dead. I can't slow you guys down if we run into trouble here."

Carson nodded in reply, and turned to Rodney. "Any idea what that thing is yet?"

A vein on McKay's neck bulged slightly as he heaved a sigh. "Yes, in the 2.8 milliseconds I've had to examine this book I've gathered all the answers to life."

Sheppard glared at him sharply. "That's enough McKay. I know you've been under some pressure recently but knock it off. And eat a PowerBar for crying out loud." The comment made McKay pause, and realize why his hands were shaking. He looked up sheepishly. "Right, yes. Sorry."

He dug around in his backpack and tore into his snack. He swallowed several bites quickly and gulped some water. "From what I can tell, the notebook is filled with coded Ancient. Our friend Agusto wasn't taking any chances with someone figuring out his stuff," he volunteered. "I can take some photos and run them through my decrypting software on my tablet but that could take awhile."

Colonel Sheppard looked thoughtful. "Well we've come all this way, I don't think we should turn around now. We'll take the notebook with us and if we don't find anything else soon we'll head back." The slight disappointment was beginning to find it's way into the Colonel's voice, which didn't go unnoticed by Teyla, as she knelt down beside him. "We will not give up John," she said softly. "We will find a way to help you somehow." She leaned her forehead against his, which he reciprocated. She had a calming effect on him as always, and he smiled his thanks. Rodney tried to not look jealous as he finished his food. "Okay, I'll started the decryption and we can keep going."

John held up his arm to Ronon. "Help me up Chewy."

Ronon quirked his eyebrow at the frequently used nickname but was silent. He hoisted Sheppard up onto the injured man's good leg, Teyla steadying him as he swayed slightly. "I'm good," he said before Carson could comment. Ronon handed John his crutches and they headed on, the Marines leading the way. John clicked his radio and informed Lorne of their progress, as well as the Ancient notebook find. The Major responded with his intentions to head in their direction, after their tunnel search was proving to be fruitless. Sheppard confirmed the plan, and the group continued at a relatively slow pace. The quiet atmosphere was broken when Rodney stopped abruptly, studying his tablet. "Uh guys, these readings are all over the place, including a drop in oxygen levels."

Sheppard paused. "And? What should we do Rodney?"

McKay shook his head. "It's not near harmful levels yet," he supplied. "I just thought it was worth mentioning. I'm more interested in the power readings." He turned his tablet so they could see. "This latest reading? Nearly two times the power of our ZPM on Atlantis. And it's close."


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N: Ahhhh once again I'm so sorry I didn't post for so long. I'm going to force myself to write more to make up for it. :) Small mention of the episode "Epiphany" in this chapter, so I take back what I said in the first chapter note, this takes place after that. And I hope the science-y stuff makes sense. I'm not a wormhole physics/anything expert ;)_

Sheppard almost didn't believe his ears. "Twice as much?"

Rodney nodded excitedly. "And if this is the place, I'd be willing to bet he needed more than one to run all his experiments."

The Colonel's hopes rose for what seemed like the first time in years. After all the battles they'd had with the Wraith, a way to fight back was in their reach. The excitement among the group was palpable, and Sheppard cracked a smile. "Well let's find some ZPMs shall we?"

Rodney genuinely smiled back, the stress he'd been under melting a little. "Lead the way Conan," he jokingly said as he poked Ronon's firm bicep. After receiving a glare, he quickly backed up and resumed his fiddling with his tablet. John barely suppressed his laughter at the sight. Ronon turned back and winked, his outwardly harsh demeanor mostly an act, but McKay didn't know that. Sheppard's radio crackled to life. "Sir, we are almost to your location," Lorne informed him. "Copy that Major," the Colonel replied. "We'll slow down a bit so you ladies can catch up."

Teyla's arched brow immediately gave him pause. "Uh, I didn't mean it like that," he stammered. Her face split into a smile. "I'm sure you didn't."

They continued in amicable silence, McKay occasionally mumbling to himself and clicking buttons. The tunnel hadn't changed much since they entered, a few dips and curves here and there, and John had figured they had covered at least 3 miles, if not more. The walls arched around to a height of about 8 feet high, jagged and rough. Too rough to be man-made, he thought. These tunnels would make a great hiding place from the Wraith. His leg was hurting more then he wanted to admit, and he tried to block it out by focusing on their surroundings.

Without their high powered flashlights, it was pitch black. Thick dust coated each of them just from walking. He could feel a lot of it settling in his lungs and making it hard to avoid coughing. Rodney sneezed repeatedly and complained about his allergies. Beckett was looking rather uncomfortable, and held a handkerchief over his mouth and nose. "This dust will the death a' me," he muttered. He was about to ask that they stop and wait for Lorne's team, when one of Sheppard's crutches slipped and he nearly hit the ground in a heap, but Ronon grabbed ahold of his arm and took the weight off his injured leg. A pained grunt followed by a cough, and a sheepish look toward Carson. "I guess it's time to stop now eh?" The doctors' Scottish lilt was thicker than usual. "I swear if ya had any lick a' sense, ya'd be at home in bed."

The Colonel set his jaw determinedly. "Why should I let you guys have all the fun?"

Rodney sneezed again. "I don't think this is in the dictionary under the word 'fun,' Sheppard," he complained. "It seems the farther we go the air and dust get thicker and more cancerous." He reread his tablet's latest readings. "The power levels are getting higher, but oxygen levels are decreasing. We should put on our masks to be safe." The group paused and dug around in their packs for the portable oxygen masks that Sheppard insisted that every team member carry. Being prepared is better than being dead, he had said. Rodney was grateful for his freaky foresight on this one occasion. The Colonel wiped more sweat out of his eyes, then relayed what Rodney had said to Lorne and his team. Teyla gently placed John's mask over his face and immediately he felt better. A small sigh escaped and he felt himself being examined under Carson's watchful eye. "Okay, time for a rest son," Beckett said cheerfully. "Let's get you comfy and cooled off."

Sheppard had barely noticed how much he was sweating, and slightly shaking. Carson and Teyla gently lowered him to the ground, and he grunted when his leg bumped uncomfortably. Carson dug out his torture kit and grabbed a syringe, and checked it. "Hey doc I said no shots," the Colonel pleaded, his voice muffled by the mask. Carson held a up his hands in a placating manner. "Ach, I know you don't like these but you sufferin' through the pain is not necessary. I'll just give ya half a dose, enough to take the edge off."

Colonel Sheppard blew out a breath in frustration and leaned back. Carson gently rolled up John's BDU pant leg and wiped a clean spot above the wound. As gently as he could, he inserted the needle and emptied its contents. John hissed and swallowed loudly. "That's one big needle Doc."

Carson patted his good leg sympathetically. "All done lad. That should started helping immediately."

Sheppard's breathing evened out and the lines around his eyes faded. "I feel like I could sleep for days," he said quietly. Teyla placed her hand on his shoulder. "Rest now. We will be here when you wake."

His eyes slid shut and his grip on her hand loosened. Carson leaned back and wiped sweat and dust from his face. "Aye, he lasted longer then I thought he would."

Teyla's face softened into a smile. "He is strong, but too stubborn for his own good."

Carson and Rodney both nodded their agreement enthusiastically.

Lorne's voice broke the silence. "Almost there guys," he said, slightly out of breath. "Remind me to go running more when we get back to Atlantis."

Ronon clicked his earpiece to respond. "You can run with me and Sheppard, when McKay gets his leg fixed."

Rodney looked a little peeved. "Just for the record, I'm not Superman. I have no idea if we will find what we're looking for, much less if it will even work."

Ronon shrugged. "You always find a way to fix things."

Rodney didn't know what to do with the compliment, so he just closed his mouth and kept working. Lorne and his team emerged from the darkness behind them, faces grimy from the dust. His eyes immediately went to his CO, who lay still against the wall. "What happened? Is he okay?"

Beckett stood and stretched his legs. "Aye, he's just resting lad. Needed a painkiller and a nap. He shouldn't even be with us."

The Major nodded and signaled his men to take a rest. "Are we any closer to this machine thing McKay?"

Rodney resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Once again, I don't know for sure that we are in the right place. The farther underground we go, the harder it is to get accurate readings."

Lorne nodded, ignoring the scientist's attitude. "Finding the guy's body seemed like a good sign."

McKay reluctantly agreed. "After Colonel Sleepyhead wakes up we'll keep going. Oxygen masks need to stay on from here out, but each one only holds 3 hours of air at normal breathing rates. Pretty sure we've all had elevated rates."

Lorne smirked and motioned one of the Marines over. "Sgt Ramirez, show the good doctor what we brought." The sergeant shook the heavy pack off his shoulders and dug out a metal cannister, which was about the length of his forearm. He held it up. "We brought refills sir," he supplied.

Rodney was tremendously relieved at the sight, after all, dying of oxygen deprivation was not on his To Do list. "How much does that hold?" he asked. Lorne adjusted his mask to check its levels. "Enough to refill each mask twice, hopefully."

McKay rubbed his hands together thoughtfully. "Good, good. That solves one problem. Now if I could just get a clear reading on these power levels…"

Lorne instructed his men to fill up everyone's masks, each one taking a turn with a spare while theirs was filled, and then made his way over to Sheppard and knelt down near him. "He doesn't look so good," he commented. Beckett shook his head. "Like I said earlier, he should be at home in a bed, not out here traipsin' about in a bloody tunnel system."

" _He_ is right here Doc," Sheppard's sleepy voice startling them all. "I'm fine, really. That voodoo shot you gave me did help." He turned his head to face Lorne and blinked slowly. "Nice of you to show up Major. Think you could help me up?" Lorne stood quickly and held out his hand. Between him and Ronon the Colonel was eased to his feet, and Teyla helped him get his crutches adjusted. To Carson he looked a little pale, but pointing that out wouldn't do any good, so he dropped it. Sheppard nodded his thanks to his teammates, and they were off, Ronon appointing himself and Sgt Ramirez to take point along with Rodney. The scientist puttered along, hitting buttons feverishly. Ronon elbowed him and halted. Rodney glanced up annoyed, but saw what the Satedan was indicating. The tunnel just stopped. McKay couldn't believe his eyes. "Are you kidding me?" he bellowed. "We've been walking for hours and _nothing?!"_

He felt like throwing all his equipment. Ronon kicked a small rock in his own bout of frustration, and it disappeared from sight the instant it should've hit the tunnel wall. Rodney's jaw dropped. Carson gasped. "Did that really just happen?" he asked to no one in particular. McKay snapped out of his momentary shock and dug his video camera out of his bag. "Who wants to stick their hand through to see if it's a time dilation field?" he joked. Sheppard's snort was quick in coming. "As much fun as it was last time McKay, I think I'll pass."

Rodney smirked and snapped his fingers at one of the Marines for duct tape and something to attach his camera to. Ronon unsheathed his sword and held it out. "Only thing long enough," he said simply. Rodney gratefully accepted the freakishly sharp weapon, although very carefully. He made short work of taping the camera to the pointed end. He clicked the record button and looked at the Colonel somewhat nervously. Sheppard give him a lopsided grin. "Well get on with it Meredith," he joked. McKay rolled his eyes overdramatically and proceeded to push the sword-camera contraption through the newly discovered force-field, or whatever it was. Everyone held their collective breath as he counted to ten, and pulled it back out. He quickly queued the new video and connected the camera to his tablet, so everyone could see. The view of the other side was as old and decrepit as the rest of the tunnel they'd just spent hours in.

Rodney tried to hide his disappointment. "Well, doesn't look like anything we haven't seen before," he commented dryly. Sheppard cleared his throat. "Why hide the entrance to this room if there's nothing in it?" he asked thoughtfully. McKay's face dawned with understanding. Sometimes he forgot Sheppard was surprisingly intelligent. He snapped his fingers. "Okay, who wants to go first?"

Every soldier present seemingly volunteered at once, a chorus of "I will sir"s echoed through the tunnel. Lorne stepped forward. "I will. If that's okay with you Colonel," he added respectfully. Sheppard nodded. "Be careful Major. I don't want to have to retrain a 2nd in Command."

Lorne stepped toward the fake wall and pinched his eyes closed. "Wait!" Rodney blurted. "I need to do one more test to make sure it's safe."

Lorne blew out the breath he didn't want to admit he'd been holding and stepped back. "What is it McKay?"

Rodney was digging around in his pack and pulled out his newest toy: a tiny prototype MALP, about the size of Sheppard's favorite remote controlled car. "I need to make sure matter can pass both ways through this portal," he explained. "Make sure we won't be fried if we come back through."

Teyla looked questioning. "You just pulled the stick device back through," she reminded him.

"Yes yes I know, but since the sword stayed in the barrier, it never completely passed through. Sort of like gate travel, if you just stick your hand through, it doesn't transmit your matter stream until all of you is in it. Portals and wormholes are similar in that respect," he explained quickly. Teyla nodded but didn't looked like she understood completely. John winked at her, whispering, "Don't worry, none of us understood that."

She smiled graciously at his attempt to make her feel better.

They turned back to watch Rodney drive the little device into the portal. He connected its video stream to his tablet, and they all watched with bated breath. After a few seconds of fuzzy screen, the room on the other side opened up to a wide expanse. "Well we know the remote's radio signals work through the barrier," McKay commented. "That means we can still communicate with you Major."

The scientist hit a button on his control and the mini MALP's light kicked on, illuminating the dark room. He panned the camera to left and right, using the device's scanners to check atmospheric conditions. "Wait, go back left," Colonel Sheppard spoke up. Rodney did as requested and the light landed on another dusty skeleton, a knife protruding from the decayed ribcage. "Oh that's horrifying," McKay squeaked.

The rest of the group looked on in silence while he fiddled around with the data being streamed to his device. "Oxygen levels are the same as this side, not great," he informed them. "I can't find any reason for it except the fact that we are so deep underground by now, and I haven't noticed a ventilation system."

Lorne cleared his throat. "So is it safe to for me to go now?"

Rodney looked up and waved his hand. "Oh right, yes. Let me bring Mini MALP back through and make sure everything's okay."

Sheppard's grunt of laughter was infectious. "Did you seriously name it Mini MALP Rodney?"

McKay rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, that's what it is! Coming from the guy who named an incredibly technologically advanced spaceship a 'puddle jumper.'"

Sheppard shrugged but his grin remained. McKay brought the MALP back through the portal, and it looked to be in good shape. He motioned to Lorne, "Okay you can go. I'll send it back through with you so we can see everything you do."

The Major checked his mask, rolled his shoulders and lifted his P90 to a ready stance. "Here goes nothin,' he said, and stepped through. The Mini MALP followed him, and Rodney panned the camera upwards so they could see what Lorne was looking at. The Major checked himself over and reported no ill effects from crossing the portal's threshold, and then headed directly to the decaying corpse, and pulled out the blade. He held it up to the camera. "I don't know anything about Ancient, but this writing looks like what little I've seen."

Rodney peered closer at the screen. "It looks like you're right Major," he agreed. "We'll join you shortly and I'll get a closer look. In the meantime, is there anything remarkable in there? A hidden crystal array? Any levers or buttons?"

Major Lorne shined his light methodically around the expansive room. "Nothing pops out right away. I'm sure you could find stuff like that faster than I can," he quipped good-naturedly. McKay's chest puffed out a little. "Well, ahem. Yes, I probably could. We'll join you shortly."

Lorne smirked into the camera. Building up Rodney's ego was beneficial to everyone. Back on the other side, the Marines formed a protective barrier around Sheppard and Beckett, Ronon and Teyla flanking the Colonel. They all stepped through one after another, and Sheppard felt a slight stinging sensation go up and down his body, and concentrating on his leg. "Uh, did anyone else feel that," he asked hesitantly. Rodney glanced back at him. "Feel what Colonel?"

Sheppard shrugged. "Felt kinda like it scanned me or something."

McKay quickly looked back over his readings. "I didn't feel anything like that," he said absently. A chorus of "me either's" followed, and Rodney looked perplexed. "Do you still feel it?" he inquired.

Colonel Sheppard shook his head. "Nope. It only lasted a second. Made my leg feel weird."

Both McKay and Beckett's eyebrows went up at that and Rodney continued to sift through his data. The doctor cleared his throat. "Aye, while Rodney figures out this latest development, you need to sit and rest."

Again the Colonel brooked no argument, which Carson appreciated but suspected at the same time. Teyla and Ronon capably eased him down to lean against the far left side of the wall. He breathed a small sigh of relief, and was just content to sit quietly for a moment. Suddenly a bright light appeared in the middle of the room. It faded and a man, wearing a gray tunic and blue beaded necklace stood there facing him. "Welcome, wounded traveler. I hope you have come with pure intentions and a just heart," he said in a pleasant voice. The Marines looked ready to open fire when Rodney waved his hand. The man didn't adjust his gaze or blink. "It's just a hologram," he said, relief evident in his voice. "What is your name?" he asked. The hologram didn't reply, his gaze still facing Sheppard. John's look of surprise hadn't faded, as he met the hologram's eyes. "What is your name?" he asked. The computer generated image shifted slightly, and a small smile appeared. "I am Agusto, a healer. My scanners indicated an injury, but also the presence of Ancient blood?" his head tilting slightly. "My peers never approved of my work, so I find it hard to believe one of them has come to me for help."

Sheppard cleared his throat. "Well yeah, your buddies weren't too nice that's for sure. But no, I'm not an Ancient. You guys were my ancestors way back somewhere though."

The hologram's eyes shifted around, seeming to take in the rest of the group for the first time. "You have brought many friends," he observed.

"What reason do you have for covering your faces?"

Sheppard glanced at Rodney. "There's not enough oxygen down here in your cave system," he replied. Hologram Agusto blinked and turned around, looking like he was searching for something. A second later, a breeze wisped by Sheppard's cheek. "My apologies," Agusto said quietly. "The ventilation system has not been in use for many years. It is on now however, you may remove your masks."

Rodney doubled checked his MALP readings and confirmed the now safe atmosphere. Everyone hesitantly removed their masks after Sheppard, but the Marines remained at a ready stance. The hologram raised his head, meeting Colonel Sheppard's gaze. It was starting to freak him out a little. "You were wounded in battle?" Agusto asked.

John cleared his throat and nodded. "More or less. We were attacked after trying to stop a gang of raiders from plundering a culled world."

Agusto bowed his head in respect. "A noble cause indeed. I believe I may be able to help you. But a warning: it will not be painless."

He said the last words with a touch of sadness, Sheppard marvelling at the fact a hologram was capable of emotions. Rodney looked about ready to explode from the hundreds of questions threatening to spill out. The hologram turned to face him. "You have questions," he said simply.

McKay nodded vigorously. "Um, yes. For one, what happened to you?"

Agusto shook his head sadly. "The others found us out. We were ordered to stop our research, or they would destroy us. Before they could I hid everything and created this computer image of myself, so I could assist anyone who happened to find this place, even after death."

Rodney nodded his head. "Well you didn't make it very easy."

Agusto bowed his head. "I apologize, but it had to be done. I am curious however, where have you come from? Your dress and equipment is unlike any my scanners have seen before."

Sheppard spoke up. "We come from the Milky Way galaxy," he explained. "But we came looking for The Lost City, and we found her."

Agusto's eyes grew wide. "The Great City did not fall to the Wraith?" he asked incredulously.

Sheppard grinned easily. "Nope, we haven't let that happen. But if you have any extra ZPMs laying around we could sure use em."

Agusto looked confused for a moment. "Ah you mean zero point modules," he realized. "I am not sure if some remain. The Others may have taken them when they discovered us."

Rodney held up his tablet. "My scanners detected a large power source here, that's why we came."

Agusto nodded. "My healing equipment requires a lot of power. Thankfully I was able to conceal it from my peers, and it was never discovered, until now."

Rodney held up his hand. "Wait, so they found you and your brother here but they didn't find your stuff?"

Agusto nodded. "I practiced some slight of hand and misdirection techniques," he said thoughtfully.

He turned and 'mentally' pushed a few buttons, and the room was bathed in bright light. The whole right wall disappeared, revealing another room filled computer equipment and what looked like a row of hospital beds. Sheppard heard Beckett gasp with excitement. Agusto's face broke into a genuine smile. "I see you are a healer like I was."

Carson's big eyes wandered from the hologram to the room. "Aye, I dabble a wee bit."

Agusto chuckled quietly and seemed to float into the adjoining room, motioning to Sheppard. "Shall we begin?"


	10. Author note

Author Note: Hey all. I sincerely apologize for abandoning this story. I hit a wall in regards to where I wanted the story to go, and since I didn't really have an outline the title no longer fits the story arc. So, with that said, I will make every attempt to rewrite and re-upload all chapters. I will keep the first chapter up so any readers who are still following will get the usual notification email. Again, so sorry!

-J, AtlantisFanatic.


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